Political parties will no longer receive direct public subsidies — currently they get $2 annually for every vote in the previous general election. Those subsidies, which cost the federal treasury $27-million annually, will be phased out over three years.

Quebec has been in negotiations with the federal government to get compensation for its harmonization of provincial and federal sales taxes. Mr. Flaherty is now setting aside $2.2-billion for the province on the assumption the negotiations wrap up by Sept. 15 with an agreement.

Specific deficit projections could be tweaked if Mr. Flaherty’s own advisers and private sector forecasters tell him some of the economic fundamentals have shifted since March.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the budget will be what it does not contain. In the March budget, Mr. Flaherty promised to eliminate the deficit by 2015-16, with a surplus of $4.2-billion that year.

Related

At the time, he said the Conservatives also would launch a review of roughly $80-billion in program spending, with a goal of achieving at least $4-billion in annual savings by 2014-15.

During the election campaign, the Tories committed in their platform to eliminating the deficit a year earlier — by 2014-15 — if re-elected. They were becoming embarrassed by the fact that critics noted some of their promises — including taxation income-splitting for couples with children — were contingent on the budget being in surplus, and that this wasn’t set to happen until the end of a mandate.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was vague when pressed by reporters about where the money would be found to accelerate deficit reduction.

He spoke of how thousands of public servants retire every year and wouldn’t need to be replaced and savings could be achieved by getting better control of computer systems. Beyond that, he had little to say. Still, it was a political commitment that he said voters could count on.

Mr. Flaherty, it seems, is more cautious. He does promise the government will produce a surplus by 2014-15. But that won’t be recorded Monday in his budget’s tables, which will stick with the 2015-16 projection.

The reason is that Treasury Board President Tony Clement has been tasked with leading the effort to find the $4-billion in annual savings. Mr. Flaherty won’t put those savings on the books until the cuts have been identified. He says that won’t happen until the 2012 budget.

In short, this is a budget that will give Canadians a sense of deja vu. If you think you’ve heard it all before, don’t worry. You have.

Once again, the theme will be clear. Mr. Flaherty called his March budget a “Low Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth.” This fiscal blueprint will be no different.

It will not contain massive tax or spending initiatives. But there will be a long list of measures sprinkled throughout the document that were first promised in March, and promised again during the ensuing spring campaign.

The government will bolster the guaranteed income supplement, which low-income seniors use to supplement old-age-security payments — likely through a “top-up” benefit of up to $600 annually for single seniors, and $840 for couples.

There will also be a program for older workers to receive training so they can change careers.

A tax credit will be available for family members who act as caregivers for relatives who experience mental or physical illness.

Families with children who attend music camp or take art lessons will be eligible for a “children’s art tax credit” of up to $500 per child.

Volunteer firefighters who perform at least 200 hours of service to their communities in one year will also receive a tax credit of up to $450.

People who want to make their homes more energy efficient will have access to a tax credit thanks to an extension of the ecoENERGY retrofit program.

Small businesses that want to hire temporary workers also will be provided tax breaks.

Rural doctors and nurses burdened down by student loans will receive funding.

The budget also will contain a range of spending initiatives.

Watch for funds to be set aside for repairs to Montreal bridges, construction of an all-season road in the Arctic, repairs to storm-damaged small-craft harbours, upgraded baggage-screening equipment at airports, improvements to the country’s weather forecast services and disease control in the hog industry.

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